Hoops coaches did terrific job

Congratulations to the University of Hawaii men’s and women’s basketball coaches and teams.

I’m originally from Syracuse, N.Y. I bleed orange. This year I had to bleed green and orange as both schools had the men’s and women’s teams in their respective NCAA tournaments.

The men’s team, especially, showed great fortitude to not only have a great regular season, but then to win the conference championship and make it to the second round of the “Dance.”

Coach Eran Ganot had what anyone could say was a remarkable first season with UH, capped by being named Big West Coach of the Year.

Both Ganot and women’s head coach Laura Beeman deserve heartfelt congratulations for an exciting and sometimes heart-stopping season.

Alex Miller

Waianae

_____

Why we have an Electoral College

I never liked that the Electoral College, rather than the popular vote, chooses our president.

But that was before Donald Trump’s campaign of seductive demagoguery.

The Founding Fathers somehow foresaw the potential rise of a huckster like Trump, and they put some distance between the people and the election of a president.

But come November, will electors realize, let alone exercise, their unique constitutional authority?

Sure, some states’ laws require presidential electors to vote with the popular majority in that state. But the U.S. Constitution specifically empowers electors (and not the people) to choose the president. Indeed, no elector has even been prosecuted for failing to vote as pledged.

Long criticized as arcane and undemocratic, it now seems the Electoral College was designed for exactly this moment in history. Let’s hope that it works.

Joseph Perez

Hawaii Kai

_____

Finland schools show us the way

Thanks to the Star-Advertiser for printing William Doyle’s article on education in Finland (“Finland’s education system might be worth emulating,” Star-Advertiser, March 23).

Teachers in Hawaii and across the country are gradually waking up to the fact that American education has been hijacked by educational corporations, with the help of governmental forces complicit with their agenda.

We have also become aware of countries where this has not happened, where educators have successfully kept businessmen and politicians out of the classroom.

The state Department of Education currently is revising its strategic plan. District officials would do well to educate themselves on the dramatic divergences that have come about between American education and education in the top-performing countries. Only then may we begin dismantling the corporate-backed “accountability regime” — a bureaucracy based on pseudoscientific conceptions of data and standards — that currently determines what happens in our schools.

Andy Jones

Language arts teacher

McCully

_____

Let poor youth ride bus free?

The youth in Hawaii need opportunities. Our state has created this negative economic environment for college graduates and young people, and it’s driving them to find jobs and to start families on the mainland. As a result, we as a state are losing.

The idea of a Honolulu Youth Charter Commission has been floated as a way to educate our youth in the democratic process. Its mission would be to advise the City Council on matters that pertain to youth. It models a commission that was established for the city of San Francisco, where it successfully championed a move to allow low-income youth to ride the bus at no expense.

As admirable as it sounds, it’s just a start. We need more innovative solutions like this.

Adrian Tam

Kakaako

_____

Not all veterans upset with VA

I am tired of the politicians and news media using the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a punching bag.

I have received nothing but outstanding treatment from the VA for nearly 35 years.

Among my friends and comrades, I know of no one using the VA who has not been able to receive treatment or make appointments in a timely manner.

We deal with the VA staff on the front lines. I have received treatment and surgeries at seven different VA clinics and hospitals.

I also have received treatment at military and civilian clinics and hospitals. Service and treatment at all medical facilities was excellent.

Bob Stock

Ko Olina